Month: May 2018

BEREA, Ohio 鈥?The entrance to the Browns facility looks different than the under-construction rubble of a year ago. The renovation includes two rows of trees, where the chrysanthemums underneath continue to bloom. A multi-colored brick path is accented with three diamond patterns leading to the double doors. It’s new, sleek, professional and built to last.
Over the last 20 or so years, those adjectives rarely have been used to describe the team inside those double doors. Cleveland is coming off an 0-16 season, has won four games combined over the last three seasons and hasn’t had a winning season since 2007. Three rookies 鈥?Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb 鈥?took their first NFL steps at Browns rookie minicamp last weekend.

A shrine of Thomas greets visitors in the lobby of the complex 鈥?it’s a reminder of one of the few diamonds Cleveland has produced since 1999. Mayfield, Ward and Chubb, however, represent the heart of a reconstruction. They played at college powerhouses, as Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio State all won their respective Power 5 conferences last season. Those schools combined for a 37-6 record.Limited Kids Brooks Robinson Jersey
Prescott has found chemistry with Beasley inside; he was the team’s leading receiver in Prescott’s stellar rookie season. That’s why adding Hurns made sense. The newcomer, with his smooth hand and route-running, will either present an upgrade over Williams or jump Beasley to raise the slot production. Thompson, who flashed for a Bills team that was short on wideouts, can do a little more than Butler can. Gallup (6-1, 200 pounds) provides the physical element Bryant had. Austin gives Prescott something the QB has not yet utilized 鈥?a pure pass-catching cog out of the backfield to supplement Elliott.

Gallup provides a replacement for Bryant, but Hurns and Thompson allow the Cowboys to improve their complementary receiving group. It’s not like Bryant and Williams Womens Zemgus Girgensons Jersey were lighting things up together. Although the Cowboys’ new-look wideouts fall short on experience and marquee, they are fundamental fits for Scott Linehan’s offense.Authentic Womens Houston Texans Jersey

49ers linebacker Reuben Foster will find out this week if he is going to stand trial on domestic violence charges and the chance that the trial will happen seemed to drop when his ex-girlfriend recanted her accusations during a hearing last Thursday.

Even if Foster avoids prosecution on those domestic violence charges, he still has a June court date related to a marijuana arrest that could lead to league discipline during the 2018 season and the events of the offseason have led some to question whether the 49ers can count on him. New teammate Richard Sherman, who accompanied Foster to an earlier court hearing, believes things will work out well.

All of those pieces of the agenda remain significant this week. But none – not even the gambling developments – will come close to approaching the hot-button status of player protests. Maybe because it continues to roil the ownership ranks and league office. Or maybe because it’s not going away without a line-in-the-sand moment created by a rule change. Why owners like Jerry Jones see it as a political problem There are reasons to believe this is an unsolvable riddle for the NFL because there are two things we have learned about owners over the past year when it comes to players protesting on the sidelines of a football field.

He announced the donation on Twitter, and issued a statement of support.

“Initiative 1639 is a reasonable and necessary measure that will improve the safety of our schools and our communities, which is why I have contributed a million dollars to the campaign,” he said. “I hope people throughout the state will support the campaign, so that we can qualify and pass this important initiative into law.”

It’s not the first time he’s dropped a big check on gun reform initiatives. In 2014, he donated $500,000 to a campaign which sought to expand background checks on gun sales in his home state.

Washington lawmakers declined a chance to raise the age to buy semi-automatic rifles after February’s school shooting in Florida, which, as it happens, was not the last school shooting in America.

Winning close regular-season games can punch your card to the playoffs, but it does not translate year to year. Great teams aren’t overwhelmingly better at winning games decided by one score; they’re overwhelmingly better at winning games decided by multiple scores.

With the 49 states that currently don’t have sports wagering now able to launch it, the NFL’s word of choice is integrity. As sports wagering takes root, the NFL will have another go-to term.Mickey Mantle Game Jersey More.
However it plays out, the concept of a larger regular season hadn’t died before gambling became something that states could legalize. As that process happens, the urgency to capture two more weeks of TV, ticket, and gambling revenue will give both the league and the union an incentive to come up with a way to make it work.Authentic Youth DeVante Parker Jersey
Don’t be surprised if, by 2021 if not sooner, it does.

You get to the point of being 30 years old 鈥?it’s not about your ability now, it’s about playing the game up here, Buckner said pointing to his head, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com.

I sat down and watched film with him and I told him, ‘The way you’re going to improve your game is to mentally evolve your game even more.’ And he wants it. He’s hungry for it, because for nine years, eight years, he’s done the same thing and been successful but it hasn’t shown up for the team. So now I’m challenging him personally to go to that next level. Not get stronger, not get faster 鈥?play the game up here. Know what they’re going to do to you before it happens. Be smarter about it.

McCoy’s six sacks accounted for over a quarter of Tampa Bay’s entire sack output last season. He’s been named to the Pro Bowl six times in eight seasons with the Buccaneers and is a three-time first-team All-Pro. He has a chance to remain highly Neil Walker Youth jersey productive due to the additional talent surrounding him up front this season. The additions of Vinny Curry, Beau Allen, Mitch Unrein and first-round pick Vita Vea make Tampa Bay’s defensive front much more imposing.

I want to play, as anybody does, Manziel said. I know there’s talent in our quarterback room and I respect the guys we do have. I know there’s going to be a learning curve and I’m going to have to take some time. I have realistic goals to come in, learn the offense, learn the game and hopefully my talent and making some throws and doing some things I feel I can do on the football field will show.Womens Brian Quick Jersey In January, after signing a three-year contract to remain Hamilton’s coach, Jones gushed about Manziel’s potential.

Womens Garret Sparks Jersey I think he’d be the best player to ever play up here, he said. He can throw it and he can run it like nobody ever has been able to do.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, the league-supported federal ban on state-sponsored sports betting, was unconstitutional. The landmark decision Dorian Johnson Womens Jersey opened a path for states to decide whether to legalize sports betting.

With legal sports betting, how will NBA, MLB protect integrity of game?

Billions will be wagered at new legal sportsbooks across the United States. The NBA and MLB are angling to reap some of the profits.

New Jersey and Delaware are expected to begin offering a full menu of legal sports betting in June, with more states poised to move forward by football season.

In a statement released Monday, Goodell said the NFL had spent time planning for expanded legal sports betting, including substantial education and compliance trainings for our clubs, players, employees and partners.

Of all the teams that have been rebuilding over the past couple of years, the Phillies look like the surest bet to follow the Astros and Cubs to the World Series. They’ve graduated young prospects into semi-stardom (Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Nola), they’ve got one of the top five farm systems in baseball, they’ve got tons of payroll flexibility and they’ve begun adding very good veterans. They were the youngest team in the league last year, and they weren’t even that bad. The Cubs and Astros won 73 and 70 games, respectively, in 2014; they won 97 and 86 in 2015, each making the playoffs and blowing past their projections. It’s not outlandish.

The Chargers hope Forrest Lamp can hit the ground running as a starter in his second pro season.
First, though, the offensive lineman must heal from a little clean up on his knee, Los Angeles coach Anthony Lynn told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche.

It was nothing major, Lynn said of Lamp, who missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL. He’s progressing along just fine.

The 6-foot, 280-pound Donald comes off a 2017 season where he totaled 41 tackles (32 solo), 11 sacks, five forced fumbles and a pass defensed en route to being named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Since entering the league as a 2014 first-round pick (13th overall) out of Kirk Gibson Youth jersey Pittsburgh, Donald has established himself as one of the league’s elite defensive linemen, totaling 205 tackles (148 solo), 57 sacks, nine forced fumbles and eight passes defensed in four seasons.

Given his production and what he means to one of the league’s top defensive units, the Rams would be wise to lock up Donald sooner than later or risk letting him reach free agency in 2019.Authentic Kids Jonathan Bernier JerseyElite Mens Ken Daneyko Jersey The Rams have made an effort this offseason to put together what they hope becomes a championship-caliber team. While taking care of Donald remains on the radar, the Rams have also added defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, cornerback Marcus Peters, cornerback Aqib Talib and wide receiver Brandin Cooks.

Not at all, O’Brien said. When I see him every day, he’s in here early, stays late. He’s doing a lot of great things both on and off the field relative to being able to be back and ready to go. Obviously, we’re not going to rush any of our injured guys. Those guys are right on schedule. J.J.’s doing a great job with his rehab. I see him every single day. I’ve said this time and time again, this is a guy that’s one of the best players to ever play the game. I would never bet against J.J Watt. He’s going to be back, he’s going to be at full strength and he’s going to help us聽win a lot of games.

It has been a rough stretch for Watt recently, to say the least.

The Kansas City Chiefs saw quarterback Patrick Mahomes start under center for one game. Apparently, the performance instilled confidence in his ability to lead a football team. He completed 22 of 35 pass attempts for 284 yards and threw an interception versus the Broncos in their regular-season finale.

Now that the draft has come and gone, an effort to predict a team’s total wins becomes slight more relevant. Or, more accurately, slightly less irrelevant.

Regardless, bets can now be placed in Las Vegas (in time, plenty of other states) regarding a given team’s total number of wins. Via David Purdum of ESPN.com, the Patriots lead the way with 11 wins.

Jordan Whitehead is an explosive, big-hitting, fly-around defender with a checkered career. He missed the end of the 2016 season with a broken arm and was suspended for three games at the start of the 2017 season for a violation of team policy. He’s more of a hitter than a tackler who plays recklessly and will overrun the ball. Whitehead is a gamble-on-athleticism type, but he is undersized and may not be special enough as an athlete to be worth much of a gamble. This is an odd pick for a team that upgraded it’s secondary earlier in the draft. Grade: C-minus.

Francis, who turns 28 later this week, played in six games last season after injuries hit Washington. He made 18 tackles.

He played in one game with Miami in 2015 and two with Seattle that season. He spent the 2016 offseason with Tampa Bay and was on and off Washington’s practice squad that year.

Hughes, 27, has played in 25 career games, though none with Washington. He has spent time with the Giants, Colts and Chiefs, seeing action with the Giants and Colts. Washington signed him to a reserve/future contract in January.

Pass protection: Very good. Walton picks up assignments quickly, but he sometimes gets rocked backward into his quarterback.

Contrary opinion from a source having an anxiety attack: A 188-pounder coming off an ankle injury who doesn’t run well between the tackles: Maybe we should just design plays for him to scamper out of bounds for a two-yard loss.

The Seattle Seahawks and Kam Chancellor have been locked into a pattern of indecision for months. Ever since week 10 of the 2017 season, the former All Pro safety’s career has been in danger due to a stinger which has morphed into an undisclosed and serious neck injury. Suffered due to an awkward tackle at the end of their Thursday Night Football win versus the Arizona Cardinals, the injury ended Chancellor’s season and has threatened to shelve him forever more.Womens Derrick Coleman JerseyWomens Antonio Garcia Jersey After this exam, God will direct me on which way to go. He always has, Womens Nick Foles Jersey always will. I listen, and I follow.

Instead,聽Martinez went with something almost as interesting considering the source:

That’s quite a compliment suggesting Severino has what it takes to be the best No. 1 starter in baseball… better than Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer, better than Justin Verlander and Madison Bumgarner, better than everyone.

Martinez聽must have been impressed watching Tuesday night when the Yankees and Red Sox, baseball’s two teams so far, began a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone characterized this effort not as dominate Sevy, but two runs over six-plus innings with聽11 strikeouts and no walks in a no-decision is pretty darned good.

Severino topped that last week in Houston when he faced the best-hitting team in baseball and threw a five-hit, complete-game shutout.

Martinez, maybe the best Dominican pitcher ever, is a big fan of Severino, the best in today’s game.

The 34-year-old had a nine-year NFL career, appearing for six teams (Washington, the Chiefs, Eagles, Browns, Dolphins, and Jets). The Jets got rid of him after he failed to show up for a preseason game in 2014. Last summer, Patterson injured two police officers while trying to escape from a courtroom.

Elite Chris Ivory Jersey The Ravens have a big draft class after using 12 picks on players and they’ve added 15 more rookies to the roster ahead of this weekend’s rookie minicamp.
What will Aaron Rodgers’ new deal look like?

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has set a new bar when it comes to every relevant contract metric 鈥?new money, total value, real guarantees, cash flow, etc. So what does that mean for the next man up, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers?

Hurst’s heart was much discussed as he dropped from a potential first-round prospect to the fifth round of the draft, but Gruden told reporters the heart issue is not an issue.

I’m not going to answer any more health questions on Hurst, Gruden said, via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. I realize there’s a lot of ghost stories out there about unnamed sources . . . I hope you just judge him on the field. He’s been cleared medically, and I’ll just leave it at that.

Hurst said he has no concerns at all about his heart, but some NFL teams reportedly removed him from their draft boards when he was diagnosed with a heart condition at the Scouting Combine.

Gruden said that in Hurst and the Raiders’ second-round pick, P.J. Hall, Oakland got the top two interior pass rushers in the draft.Elite Taylor Moton Jersey
Nearly nine years ago, then-Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer created a stir with a matter-of-fact assessment of the risk of playing NFL football: The truth of the matter is . . . somebody is going to die here in the NFL. It’s going to happen. The most dangerous play in the game presents Jake DeBrusk Youth jersey the greatest risk of that, since players who are moving in opposite directions at full speed and who dip their helmets at impact risk the kind of upper spinal cord injury that will induce paralysis and, even worse, end life.

The New York Times published a report this week concerning a trip to Costa Rica taken by the Washington cheerleaders in 2013.Limited Wes Welker Jersey
Our entire organization has great appreciation and respect for our cheerleaders. From the work they do in the local community, to visiting our troops abroad, and for always representing the Redskins organization in a first-class manner, these women are exemplary members of our organization and are worthy of our utmost respect. We are proud of these women and support them during this time. We will continue to take all necessary measures to create a safe Marcell Dareus Jersey and respectful work environment.

Specifically, what are the most glaring remaining needs for NFL teams?

As usual, Simms and I went three rounds deep. As usual, it was a lively and spirited segment. As usual, I won.

The 2017 seventh-round pick was a prep star in Charlotte before his career at the University of North Carolina. He spent most of last season on the Raiders practice squad.

The Panthers also added C.J. Anderson yesterday, giving them an established back to work with Christian McCaffrey after they failed to find a complement in the draft.

He talks fast. Likereallyfast. Talking to Guentzel is like playing a recap podcast of The Bachelorette at 1.5x speed through a speaker made out of cans of Red Bull. As one Pittsburgh writer mentioned outside the Penguins’ locker room last night: There are times when the last word of his sentences is actually a combination of three words, and you have to just sort of Google Instant Search his complete thought.

He also has a pretty solid playoff beard for a fair-haired boy, which, as Corey Perry and Steven Stamkos can attest, isn’t always the easiest thing to accomplish. The trick is to start the beard as early as possible. Sifting through the video evidence, we’d say he started his foliage about two weeks before the postseason. That’s a veteran move. Wonder if Sidney Crosby taught him that, too.

Last year, the Dolphins had to scramble when quarterback Ryan Tannehill tore an ACL during training camp, luring Jay Cutler out of retirement. If Tannehill gets injured again this year, Cutler won’t be back.

It’s still not clear which quarterback would replace Tannehill, if it happens. Matt Moore is gone, David Fales and Brock Osweiler have arrived. Most recently, a waivers claim was made for Bryce Petty.

I didn’t know where his money was. . . . Just hearing him and where he was mentally and what he wanted to accomplish and how he kind of wanted to get his career rolling again, after we had that conversation and we got him in the building, everybody really liked him. I felt good about it. We ended up making that move and ever since then, I’m seeing the same guy that I saw in his younger years.”

The West Virginia sports betting bill, which will become effective if/when (when) the U.S. Supreme Court scraps that law that currently prevents West Virginia and most other states from adopting sports wagering, has been tweaked to provide for a so-called “integrity fee” aimed at compensating those who provide the sports on which bets are placed a piece of the action in exchange for, well, nothing.

Via WVNews.com, a tentative agreement has been reached in West Virginia to pay the integrity fee. The funds will come not from the state’s cut of the money generated by gambling, but from the portion that will go to the various state casinos where the betting will occur.

“I demanded that the entire fee be paid by the casinos,” Governor Jim Justice said.
All due respect, it’s a distinction without much of a difference. The extra money that the casinos will cough up to the sports leagues to get the deal done just as easily could have gone to sweetening the pot for the state. So even though the state’s piece of the pie will get no smaller, the fact that the casinos will get less money necessarily means that the state could have gotten more.